Is it necessary to go to the Notary for an inheritance?
At JLA Notarios, our notary office in Barcelona, we specialise in processing inheritances and with this post we want to address some of the most common queries we encounter: Is it necessary to go to the Notary for an inheritance?
As it is a complex subject, we will provide information on the general issues to help understand this topic a little better. For any enquiries or personalised quotes, you can write to us at the contact email bcn@jlanotarios.com where we will assist you without obligation. From our notary office we can process inheritances in Barcelona or anywhere in Spain, provided the signing can be done at our notary office on the Diagonal in Barcelona.
What procedures are carried out and why is it necessary to go to the Notary for an inheritance?
To understand why it is necessary to go to the Notary for an inheritance, we will look at the functions related to them carried out by a Notary's office:
Verification of documentation for processing inheritances
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Notaries check that all the necessary documentation is in place to carry out an inheritance:
If there is a notarial will, a death certificate, a certificate of last wills and a certificate of life insurance of the deceased person will be required. If any of these documents are missing, the notary can help you obtain them.
If there is no will, prior to the inheritance, a declaration of heirs at the notary must be processed. This declaration of heirs is one of the cases where it is necessary to go to the notary for an inheritance and allows the will to be dispensed with, but then all the inheritance procedures must be carried out. We have a post where we provide information about declarations of heirs:
- Notaries verify the documents that justify the ownership of the assets being inherited and help to determine which documents are needed and how to gather them. With these documents, the notary prepares a list or inventory of the assets and rights to be inherited.
Tax valuation of assets
- The notary helps to carry out the correct fiscal valuation of the assets that are inherited: all the assets included in the inheritance inventory must be valued for tax purposes. There are many tax rules that must be followed, but within those rules there is some flexibility that must be properly understood.
At the time of valuing the assets of the inheritance, it is essential that the notary devotes the appropriate time, as if done optimally there can be tax savings, which is why it is one of the cases where it is necessary to go to the notary for an inheritance. For example, something important to consider is whether the assets received in inheritance will be sold or not, as depending on the case, giving them the appropriate fiscal valuation allows paying less tax in the future.
Signing of the inheritance deed at the notary and subsequent steps
- When signing the inheritance deed at the notary, the assets of the inheritance are definitively distributed among the different heirs and the persons who may have been benefited by the will.
- The notary will submit the inheritance deed to the Land Registry, once it has been signed by the heirs at the notary’s office.
- Furthermore, the best notaries offer the tax settlement service, which consists of calculating what each beneficiary of the inheritance has to pay to the Treasury and they take care of paying it on behalf of the clients. Afterwards, they check that all the properties have been properly registered in the Land Registry. This is a service not offered by all notaries.
At JLA Notarios we can take care of the inheritance tax procedures if our clients request it. Furthermore, we believe that knowing well how the taxes work is essential to provide a service of the highest quality in the processing of inheritances.
For more information about the general procedures for formalising an inheritance, you can visit the following link on our blog:
With this blog article, we hope to have provided you with quality information so that you know in which cases it is necessary to go to the Notary for an inheritance with or without a will. If you need assistance, we are at your disposal. From JLA Notarios, our notary office on the Diagonal in Barcelona, we specialise in Succession Law and can offer you notarial services in inheritances and wills provided you come to our notary office to sign.
Do not hesitate to contact us by writing an email to bcn@jlanotarios.com or through the contact form.
